High school sports: Preps of the week

American Fork's Austin Pitcher pitches as Lone Peak High School plays American Fork High School in baseball Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in Highland.

Tom Smart, Deseret News

Summary

AUSTIN PITCHER, American Fork, baseball: He was equal to his last name in every sense of the word in American Fork's thrilling 3-2 victory over Lone Peak in extra innings early in the week. The senior went the distance throwing 120 pitches to lead his team to a key Region 4 win.

AUSTIN PITCHER, American Fork, baseball: He was equal to his last name in every sense of the word in American Fork's thrilling 3-2 victory over Lone Peak in extra innings early in the week. The senior went the distance, throwing 120 pitches to lead his team to a key Region 4 win.

"His 120th pitch was as good as his first pitch," said American Fork coach Jarod Ingersoll following the game. "I can't say enough about him today and how he competed. I thought his mound presence was really good and he showed us by his body language that he could get the job done."

Later in the week Pitcher contributed a key double to help the Cavemen take an 11-10 win over the Knights in 12 innings.

Pitcher is now 2-0 on the year and a big reason why American Fork stands on top of Region 4 with an 8-1 region record and 13-3 record overall.

SHAYLEE PIERCE, Fremont, softball: Shaylee Pierce is the player the top-ranked Silver Wolves look to when they need a spark on offense.

"She has really come out as one of our go-to hitters," said Fremont head coach Kamarie Merrill. "We can count on her to get a hit and get on base. Right now, she's hitting more home runs than anybody, too."

Pierce has five on the season but has had multiple home runs in key games.

She's just crazy," Merrill said. "She's consistently getting on base, but not only is she just amazing at the plate, she has figured things out and she's matured a lot. Base running, she's probably one of my fastest base runners. But she also picks up extra bases that other people can't because she's so savvy on the bases.

The honor student is equally key to the team's defense in right field.

"She is speed, Merrill said of her fielding. "She cover so much ground in the outfield for us. She's kind of a calming presence. She leads more so by example."

Popular Comments

Nice job Shaylee, so nice to see this, a great athlete, person and student.. I
hope the colleges are paying attention.. she's just starting to showcase
her skills while many that were good or even great as underclassman are falling
short of
More..